The Confessional
by CookiePhantom
Summary: Carol & Daryl get fall into a pit with no apparent escape. Their desperate situation leads them to confess the demons of their past, and maybe more. Can they work together to escape?
1. Chapter 1

Carol took a step backward the world was suddenly falling away beneath her feet. She was grasping for Daryl who managed to wrap his arm around her waist, but instead of pulling her up, he lost his footing and she pulled him down. He held her tight to him in the fall as he scraped down the wall of the pit. This act shielded Carol from the brunt of the impact as she landed on top of him. Her boot jammed between his leg and the wall of whatever they had fallen into, and almost brought tears to her eyes.

She said, "Are you okay?"

Daryl didn't respond. He was knocked unconscious on impact.

"Daryl!" she said, panicking, "Daryl?"

He opened his eyes and groaned. Pain surged through his back and neck. His head was throbbing, and his shoulder felt like it was on fire. Carol scrambled off of him wincing because of her ankle. She put her hand to his cheek, not sure what to do, "Are you okay?"

"Fuck," Daryl gasped, "Wind knocked outta me, what happened?

"I don't know," Carol said. What she did know was that they were running form a large group of walkers, and had finally gotten clear of them. She had turned to say something to Daryl and the ground broke beneath her feet, "Possibly a trap?"

Daryl whimpered.

Carol was very worried. She was not sure how bad Daryl's injuries were, and she was not sure she would even be able to put pressure on her ankle to stand. The pit was too deep to be able to get out of. The walls felt like they were closing in on her. She was very claustrophobic, "How will we get out of here?"

Daryl said, "Just let me think. Gimme a minute."

Carol tried to stay calm, to think of an idea, as Daryl gingerly sat up, grimacing in pain. He leaned against the wall. Even though the sky was bright grey twilight above them the amount of light that reached to the bottom of the pit was limited, and it was not easy to see him.

"We're fucked," Daryl groaned, looking up the walls.

Tears started running down Carol's face. She was trying not to let the fear get the better of her but the thought of dying in this hole was too much. She had always hated the idea of tight spaces, and already horrible thoughts were racing through here head. They would run out of water very quickly, and no one knew where they were.

Daryl squinted at her, and softened his voice, "Don't cry. We'll figure it out."

Carol thought of something, "What if they fall in on us?"

Daryl thought about the walker herd they'd outrun, "Guess that means we can't call for help. Let's just hope that doesn't happen. Keep yer knife ready, in case."

Carol placed her trembling hand on her knife. She couldn't seem to stop her mind. Her eyes were adjusting to the dimness and she could see Daryl now more clearly. He was rubbing his temples in frustration or pain, she wasn't sure which.

Daryl had no idea what to do, and his shoulder was absolutely killing him. He must have scraped it up pretty badly on the way down because it burned fiercely. He reached around with his left hand and tentatively touched it, sucking in breath from the searing pain.

"What is it?" Carol asked, forgetting about the situation and focusing on him.

"My shoulder," Daryl said, "I think it might be cut pretty bad."

"Let me take a look at it," Carol said.

"Nah, nothing you can do for it, anyway," Daryl sighed.

Carol ignored him and moved towards him. She didn't have anything else to do and it took her mind off of everything. He flinched when she reached for him, but then relaxed and let her look. Carol could see he had a very bad friction burn that covered any part of his arm and shoulder that had not been protected by his vest. The shirt underneath was shredded and some of it was stuck in the wound.

"Yer not sayin' anything so it must be bad," Daryl mused.

"It's not good," Carol said, "But I think we won't have to amputate."

Daryl chuckled, and tried pulling his shoulder away.

"I have to get the pieces of fabric out of this before it scabs over," Carol said, "I'm sorry, it's going to hurt."

Daryl sighed, and relented.

"I'll be careful," Carol said, and tenderly began cleaning his would. Daryl set his jaw, and didn't say anything but she could feel how tense he was, and knew it was hurting him. She blew on his shoulder, "I'm sorry, I know it stings."

"It's fine," Daryl said through gritted teeth.

When she was done she sat back across from him and they stared at each other for a moment. Daryl grew uncomfortable and started looking up the walls for an escape. He had a couple of ideas but he wasn't feeling very up to trying them at the moment. "It's gonna be getting dark soon."

"Maybe Rick will come looking for us," Carol said hopefully.

Daryl didn't answer. He knew Rick definitely would not be coming looking for them tonight, but he didn't want Carol to lose hope. Carol attempted to stand, but was having trouble putting pressure on her bad ankle. Daryl furrowed his brow, "What's wrong?"

"My ankle."

"Fuck," Daryl growled, "Sit down, yer gonna hurt yerself more."

"Doesn't matter if we're dead," Carol said, fear creeping into her voice again.

"Don't talk like that," Daryl scolded, "what do you have on you?"

Carol sat down opened up her satchel that had been over her shoulder, and started pulling out items: 1 bottle of water, 1 bottle of tyenol, a bruised apple, safety pins, 2 pens, a pad of paper, and a gun. As Daryl watched the hope drained from him. Nothing was useful. She asked, "Where is your bag?"

"Not sure," Daryl admitted, "Don't matter, not like I had a ladder in it."

It made Carol laugh despite everything, "Oh this is so horrible, Daryl, after all we've been through what a way to go..." She handed him 3 Tylenols and the water bottle.

"Stop," Daryl said with an edge to his voice. How was he going to get them out of this hole, or worse what if whoever set this trap found them? He quickly took the medicine and closed up the water bottle. He definitely didn't want to go through their only water too quickly.

Carol sat nervously, and fiddled with her knife while Daryl rested. The sun started to disappear and it was getting darker. The more they lost light the more nervous Carol became. She cut the apple in half and handed off part of it to Daryl.

"Naw," He said refusing it, "I'm not gonna take half of yer sad damn apple."

She threw it at him, "Don't be ungrateful."

Daryl scowled at her but took it anyway.

"I hate small spaces," Carol said, "When I was a kid, I hated going into the confessional, because it was such a tight room. It was like they were trying to squeeze the confession from you."

Daryl laughed humorlessly, "I hated the confessional for other reasons."

"Yeah?" Carol asked, "What's the worst thing a harmless butterfly like you ever did?"

Daryl didn't respond, and they were quiet for a long time. Just when Carol thought he was not going to answer he said, "when I was a kid? or the worst thing I've done in my life?"

Carol felt like they might be walking into dangerous territory, and she went the safe route, "When you were a kid."

"Maybe I didn't do nothing bad when I was a kid, but I didn't do nothing good neither. I was always getting into some kind of trouble. Always runnin' away." Daryl paused, and took a bite of the apple, "Kid stuff, I guess."

Carol nodded, "Once I tried to run away. I had a tiny red suitcase and I packed it up full of all my clothes, and my favorite dolly, and I even left the house. But I wasn't allowed to go around the block or cross the street by myself so I just walked up and down the street until I got tired and went back home."

"You rebel," Daryl said with mock emphasis.

"I know," Carol said, "you're not the only badass here."

"I knew that was true already," Daryl admitted, "Yer tougher than me. I know it."

"Obviously," Carol said with a sheepish smile, rolling her eyes, and they fell silent again.

"The problem isn't always whacha do that makes ya a bad person, usually it's what ya don't do," Daryl said becoming surprisingly serious again, "The worst thing I did as a kid was not to stand up to my daddy."

"You were a kid," Carol reasoned, "You can't beat yourself up over that."

"Maybe," Daryl said, "But maybe things'd be different if I would've done somethin'"

Daryl looked away painfully, and didn't speak until it was almost too dark to see each other, "Listen, we will think of something, Try an rest."

Carol put her head down on her satchel bag and curled up into a little ball. Daryl rested his head on his arm and closed his eyes, letting the pain in his head take over for a minute. The Tylenol didn't help much. When he opened them he looked across to Carol who was shivering in the chill of the evening and had her face buried in the crook of her arm.

She was tiny with her knees to her chest, and he wished he had a blanket or something useful. He didn't even have a jacket with him.

"Carol," he said quietly. She lifted her head and when her eyes opened and he could see them sparkling with tears in the moonlight. He could barely make out much more of her, "Come 'ere."

Carol tipped her head questioningly.

"Yer freezing," Daryl said pragmatically, "Come lay by me."

Carol was surprised but she scooted over by him, and laid next to him awkwardly with her back to him. It was warmer, and it was dark enough so that she couldn't really see him but when she laid next to him she could feel him tense up.

After a moment he settled down next to her, resting his head back down, and then to her surprise he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. He never said a word, and after a few minutes she could feel his breathing get easy, and knew he had fallen asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Carol woke up to a giant raindrop hitting her face. Daryl was still sleeping cuddled tight behind her, she could feel his breath on her neck. At some point she had drifted off, but now she knew it was going to be difficult for her to sleep if it began to rain. It was cold, intermittent rain at this point, threatening to burst open at any moment. She heard distant thunder.

She rolled over toward Daryl trying to shield their faces, but the movement woke him up.

Daryl groaned, "It's rainin'?" He sat up scratching his head, and then took off his vest. Carol could barely just see him in the dim light. It was more like sensing his movements. He laid back down next to her and covered up their heads with his vest, pulling her in tightly.

"Hope this helps," he said, and suddenly he was very aware of their close proximity. Her nose was less than an inch from his, and she was so warm. He felt like she was warming him up in new ways. Daryl got nervous and pulled back.

"It's going to be hard to sleep, now," Carol said, the rain was picking up it's intensity.

"Yeah," Daryl agreed. "Couldn't get much worse, could it?"

Daryl's skin was buzzing with her closeness. Usually she made him feel comfortable, but he felt agitated. It was a discomfort that he really wanted to act on. He either needed to push her away or pull her all the way to him, but the small space between was driving him crazy.

"Are you okay?" Carol asked, he felt her fingertips lightly touch his arm.

"Yeah, m' head just hurts, that's all," Daryl said licking his lips.

Carol could not see Daryl, but she could feel how tense he was, and intuited it was their closeness. He was the one who pulled her in, but now he seemed bothered by it. She really wanted to kiss him and see what would happen. She knew that touching and teasing wouldn't work. Daryl didn't pick up on hints. They might die in this pit, and so maybe she should take the chance. She sat up instead, breaking the tension.

"Where ya goin'?" Daryl asked.

"Can't sleep now," Carol said scooting as close to the wall as she could and tucking her knees up to her chest. Daryl shuffled his body until she felt him sitting next to her, shoulder to shoulder. The rain was not hitting them as directly. The wall provided some limited protection from the elements.

"Do you think we are going to die?" Carol asked.

"No..maybe..." he answered in a burst of honesty, "Sorry." He felt like he was letting her down because he hadn't come up with an idea yet, and because he secretly felt hopeless about getting out.

"If we die..." Carol said, facing her fear, "Do you have any regrets?"

"Yeah," Daryl said immediately, "I try not to think about it."

"I have a lot of regrets. Things I've done before everything went bad, and things I've done after," Carol said.

"Alright," Daryl said nervously. She felt him fidgeting beside her.

"I killed Lizzie," Carol said robotically. "She killed Mika, and she was going to kill Judith when I found her. There was something not right with her and she thought that…the walkers were just people. She wanted to prove that to me."

She stopped talking, and everything was still other than the patter of rain. Although Daryl couldn't see her he could hear that she was softly crying. He put his arm around her and pulled her close, "Lay your head on me and rest," he said quietly.

"That's not all of it," Carol said, trying to be calm, and not break down, "I had to shoot her. That was the worst part. I barely felt I could live with myself after, so I went in and told Tyrese about Karen and David, and gave him a gun. I wanted him to kill me."

Daryl squeezed her shoulder, and she relented and laid her head down on him, a moment later she was buried into his chest weeping. He held her while she cried, not really sure what to do, just occasionally stroking her hair until she calmed down. He thought that if they did die that this wasn't the worst way to spend his last moments.

"Do you think I'm a horrible person?" Carol's muffled question came as her face was pressed into his chest.

"No," Daryl said, "Yer just a good woman in a bad world."

Carol cared what Daryl thought about her, so it helped to hear him say that, even though she thought she would never get over what happened.

She said, "I'm sorry I cried on you."

"S'ok," Daryl replied, "What's a little more water?"

As if on cue the sky opened up and the rain came pouring down. Daryl sighed and cradled Carol closer to him, attempting to shield her from the rain. Carol started laughing, and then Daryl started laughing. It was all so horrible, but holding her was wonderful. He never had felt so uncomfortable, wet, and cold, but he did not want to let her go. Having the excuse to touch her, he felt he might go through any level of discomfort.

Rain soaked them, and they were both shivering and clinging to one another, Daryl put his head down on Carol's, and she said, "I'd say it can't get worse, but I don't want to challenge it."

Daryl would almost agree except he felt oddly serene holding her, as the rain pelted them. He was still in pain but all of that was going out of his mind, and he could only think of the feel of her head up against his chest, and his lips nestled in her hair. He couldn't see her but he could feel her weight shift as she looked up at him.

"I have many regrets," Daryl felt like he needed to say something under her honest eyes, "There's many things I coulda done better. Things I shoulda done. I'm not a good man, Carol."

"You are, to me," Carol said reverently.

Daryl's heart swelled with the compliment. He was feeling hypnotized by her, by the warmth of Carol in his arms. He wanted her. This wasn't the first time he had felt this way, but the first time he felt dangerously close to taking her. He leaned towards her, but lost the nerve and turned away. His cheek brushed hers.

"Daryl?" Carol asked into his ear.

He couldn't answer, couldn't think.

Carol heard his ragged breathing, felt the stubble of his beard against her cheek, and had the overwhelming urge to do what she had wanted to do earlier. She whispered, "I don't want to have any more regrets." and impulsively she nuzzled her cheek up against his.

Daryl buried his face in her neck, breathing in her skin. His heart was racing, and he knew he was going to act and it excited and terrified him. He raised his head, and she surprised him by bridging the distance between them, pressing her lips to his.

It felt amazing to him, and she tasted like everything that was good in life, and he was transfixed by her. He leaned into the kiss wanting more of her, feeling his body respond to this almost chaste kiss.

He deepening their kiss, wanting to feel her body pressed fully to his. She was running her hands through his wet hair, her fingers getting tangled in it, gripping it tightly and pulling his head to hers.

Carol's head was spinning. She had wanted him for so long, and he was pushing into her, tentatively exploring her mouth. She wasn't sure what she expected from him, maybe for him to flinch away, or at best to take it passively. She didn't expect that it would ignite the fire in him that was burning against her. She pulled back, disentangling herself from his arms and sitting next to him.

She could barely see him in the morning light, but he looked beautiful to her. He was rain drenched, shivering, vulnerable. Strands of hair fell in front of his eyes which were closed as if he was afraid to look at her. She brushed the hair from his face and he opened them. He smiled sheepishly, but managed not to drop his gaze. He felt paralyzed to make a move toward her so he sat and looked at her.

Carol felt like something had clicked inside of her, like she had been walking out of step but now she had suddenly fallen into place. She had denied herself him for so long, and she wondered why she had put this off, why she hadn't managed to prioritize kissing Daryl before today.

Even though they were soaked and the air was chilling him Daryl felt a warmth that radiated throughout his body. He trusted her, and now he knew that she wanted him. He longed to kiss her again. He missed it. Raindrops landed on his lips, trying to erase the feeling of her that he had already memorized. Suddenly the rain ceased and everything was still.

"I don't know if we will get out of here, but if we don't I want you to know that I love you," Carol said hesitantly. She notices his eyes flicker to her lips.

Daryl didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her waist and go in for more. He had wanted her from the day they had met, and he was tired of waiting. Their time might be limited. He pressed his lips to her neck, making her sigh, and kissed up to her ear. He whispered, "finally."

Whether Carol pulled him back or he pushed her down was uncertain but all at once he was on top of her. Daryl realized they were in about an inch of mud, he picked up his hand which was covered, "Sorry," he said, and was genuinely sorry.

"I don't care," Carol said putting her hand on his chin and pulling him back to her. He touched her cheek tenderly, dragging mud down her face. Carol laughed, and they kissed again.

Daryl was so caught in the moment he almost didn't hear it.

The instinct to protect was so ingrained that he reacted without thinking scrambling off of Carol and unsheathing her knife as he did.


	3. Chapter 3

Daryl gripped Carol's knife awkwardly as he wasn't accustomed to using it, and looked up just in time to see colorful candies raining down followed by a snarling walker into the pit. He jumped back and managed to avoid it splatting down into a broken heap by his feet. Lost his balance and fell into the muddy floor which made him drop the knife.

Carol was left without a weapon so she scrambled back to the wall, and went for her bag, digging through it to retrieve her gun. Daryl held a hand up to her to hold her off from shooting. He grabbed the knife, lunged forward, and stabbed the walker through the eye. He skyward, and could see his bag perched at the edge of the hole - precariously close to dropping. The candies had fallen from it. He looked back at Carol.

She picked up a red piece of candy from the mud, "Skittles, Dixon? You were holding out on me?"

"Pfft," Daryl said as he wiped off her knife and handed it back to her, "I got 'em fer you."

Carol gave him a skeptical look, and stood up, testing her ankle. "It's a lot better," she said putting weight on it, "Do you think there's more walkers?"

Daryl was quiet for a minute thinking. "Maybe," he said and then he shouted, "Hey assholes, come 'ere!"

"What are you doing!" Carol hissed.

"Want my bag," Daryl said.

Carol smiled and started shouting along, "HEY! Come bite us. We are so delicious!"

Daryl raised his eyebrows and looked at her, shaking his head and laughing. Their shouting paid off more than they'd hoped, as one by one walkers fell into the pit. It was overwhelming, so they clung to the wall to avoiding getting by falling bodies, most of which where thankfully taken out on impact. They waited for cessation and finished off any that were left. Fortunately, Daryl's bag came with them but unfortunately he had to dig under a pile of bodies to get to it. After a half hour of dispatching of the walkers and moving them around he triumphantly pulled his bag free.

"Well, I hope that was worth it," Carol said resting against the wall. They were both filthy, covered in muck and blood.

"Course it was," Daryl said sitting next to her, and opening up his bag. He thought she was cute. Her hair was completely mud caked and she was smeared and splattered, and he'd never seen her look more lovely in his life. Her blue eyes were sparkling at him.

He pulled out a bottle of water and handed it up to Carol. She tried to refuse it but Daryl insisted. She said, "I think we should save it."

"We are gonna get outta here," Daryl said, still rummaging through his bag. "I noticed, when we were...when we were on the ground," Daryl was blushing furiously, "I noticed that there's a door below this mud. I think maybe this is some kind of sewer pipe." He pulled out a set of tools. "This'll help us open that door."

Carol laughed and crouched next to him, "And you didn't think to stop to tell me that?"

"I was gonna tell ya," Daryl said with sideways smile, "Just not right at that moment."

Carol pursed her lips and gave him a cynical look.

"Yer kind of a mess now," Daryl said, teasing her.

"You should talk," Carol said.

"I didn't say it'd stop me," Daryl replied avoiding eye contact. He desperately wanted to get back to what they had been interrupted from, but knew that they needed to try to get out before something bad happened to them in this death trap.

Carol leaned over and began to kiss his neck, taking him by surprise. He moaned, feeling all at once weak, and pleased at the same time that she wanted him in this way. His heart was racing, and he struggled to keep his emotions in check.

"I'm not gonna tell ya to stop," Daryl said reluctantly, "But ya should. We gottta get outta here"

Carol stopped after a couple more kisses, and to Daryl's surprise she nipped his ear which did more to him than he would have been able to put into words.

Daryl sighed, "I didn't know ya were a big tease!"

Carol giggled.

He moved over to the place where he had felt the door and started clearing the half dried mud from it. It was a hatch that was bolted shut. It would be possible to pry it open with some effort. There was a lot of rust on the door, but he could tell it hadn't been opened for a long time.

Daryl began to work on the door, and Carol watched him, enjoying his dexterity with the tools, and appreciating him in a new way. He was her man now. They hadn't talked about it, and she knew they never would. Everything had shifted. Maybe, Carol thought, they always belonged to each other in some way.

Daryl was focused on what he was doing and lost in his own thoughts. All he wanted to do was get out of this hole so he could take Carol to the first bed he could find. He wasn't even specific that it had to be a bed, but he would like to do right by her. He felt a little ashamed they'd been rolling around in the mud.

With some time and effort Daryl finally opened the hatch. A dank smell wafted up and a ladder stretched down into the dark nothingness.

"Oh," Carol said seeing where she was going to be asked to go, "Should we? We could get lost down there."

"I have a flashlight," Daryl said as if that was an answer. He saw the worried look on her face, "Look, we don't have a choice. We gotta. I'll keep ya safe."

"I have a problem with small spaces," Carol said.

"I know. It will be for a little while and then we will be out, and we'll be safe," Daryl assured her grabbing his flashlight, "I'll go first."

He lowered himself down the ladder. The ground below was thankfully dry, he called up, "It's not that far down."

Carol followed him. He helped her down the ladder

"You okay?" Daryl asked.

"I'll make it," Carol answered.

"That's my girl," Daryl said flipping on the flashlight. "Can ya walk? I can carry ya."

"I think I'll be fine," Carol said as she interlaced her fingers with Daryl's. Daryl shone the flashlight around and there was only one way to go so they started walking.

"I'm going to turn off the flashlight to save the battery," Daryl said.

Carol panicked, "No, please…."

"Just listen to my voice," Daryl said, "I can get along good in the dark, just trust me."

"I trust you," Carol said, "I just hate this."

Daryl turned off the light and talked with her, trying to keep a running conversation going to keep her calm, and periodically switching the flashlight on to see their progress.

"When I was a kid," Daryl said, "I used to run away from home. Things weren't great there. You know what I mean. And sometimes I would stay out for days at a time. There was some woods behind the school I learned to navigate well in the dark, and to not be afraid of it. It can hide ya. It can be a tool."

"That's awful," Carol said.

"I guess it was," Daryl agreed, "But at the time it was so much better than bein' at home, that it felt more my home than home felt. Once my sister said-"

"You had a sister?" Carol questioned.

"Mmhmm," Daryl mumbled.

"What was her name?" Carol asked quietly.

"Jo," Daryl said, "Short for Josephine."

"You've never told me about her..."

"Naw," Daryl's voice was soft, "I don't know where she is. I don't even know if she's alive."

Carol didn't know what to say, she stopped him and pulled him in for a hug. He hugged her back and rested his head on hers for a moment before continuing on.

"It's been a long time," Daryl continued, "I was maybe 14, and she was a coupla years younger than me. Merle was always as far away as he could be so me and Jo were close. After my ma died I tried to protect her, but I couldn't."

Daryl was quiet for a moment, he clicked on the flashlight to look around, pointed it near Carol so he could see her beautiful face, and saw that she was pitying him, which he didn't really want. He pulled her in and squeezed her shoulder, "I'm sorry."

"Don't ever be sorry for telling me something that's important to you,"Carol said.

Daryl clicked the flashlight back off. "My sister ran away. That's probably my fault, too, because I would run away when things got too hard. Things were bad fer her at home. I shoulda killed my dad. I shoulda done something, but I didn't, and one day she ran off and we never saw her again. I looked fer years. Maybe I'm still lookin'," Daryl finished.

Carol squeezed his hand tight, realizing the implications of this confession. He fell quiet and they let the silence wrap around them as they walked on.

Daryl stopped, "I'm sorry I couldn't find Sophia," he said, his voice sounded like it was breaking.

"Don't," Carol turned to him and put her index finger to his lip, "that's not on you. That has never been on you."

Daryl buried his head into her neck, and she held him in the blackness. All she could hear was his breathing, but she could feel the wetness of his tears falling silently. She was unnerved by the all encompassing darkness, but she left him with his privacy.

She raised his chin and wiped his cheeks with her thumbs carefully. He reached up and took both of her hands in his and kissed each one gently, almost reverently.

Daryl sighed.

"Do you see that?" he asked, "There's light coming up ahead."

Carol looked and could barely see a bit of light way down the tunnel. Daryl fumbled with the flashlight and turned it on.

"Let's get out of here," Carol said.


	4. Chapter 4

Daryl anticipated some difficulty getting out of the sewer but it was as simple as climbing up a ladder & pushing up. They both sat down to rest in the mid morning light. Daryl opened his bag and handed Carol a granola bar.

"We share it," Carol said.

"Nah, I don't even want it," Daryl smiled at her.

She smiled back, "You're just happy to be alive?"

"I'm happy for many reasons," Daryl replied, realizing that it had been so long since he'd thought he could even be happy.

"So, maybe falling into that hole wasn't 100 percent bad?" Carol asked.

"There was parts I liked," Daryl answered.

"Oh yeah, do tell?"

Daryl chuckled, "I liked laying next to ya... I liked kissin' ya. I liked that quite a lot."

Carol blushed and turned away. He reached over and took her hand reassuringly. Death looming over their heads had been an intoxicant lowering their inhibitions, but now they were shy. They sat in silence while Carol at the granola bar.

"Carol," Daryl said loving the sweet sound of her name on his tongue. She looked at him with her big blue eyes, "I'm happy we're alive, and I love ya."

"I love you, too," Carol said. Her face betrayed many emotions.

"Ya told me before, but I didn't tell ya back. Not because I didn't feel it, or think it. I just haven't told anyone that before," Daryl admitted, "I've known I'm in love with ya for a long time."

"Why didn't you tell me," Carol asked.

Daryl shrugged, "Didn't know if you loved me back." He didn't think she loved him back would have been closer to the truth.

Carol felt like they'd probably wasted a lot of time being scared, and being foolish. She couldn't pinpoint the moment she had fallen for him. Was it when he'd almost died searching for Sophia? Was it when she wrapped his arms around his waste on the motorcycle that first time? Was it wandering from place to place before they got to the prison? She didn't remember. It felt like it had always been there, and she had been afraid to act on it as well. It was so stupid.

"We better get home," Daryl said, thinking about how much he wanted to get her home, and all of the things he would do to her when he got her there, and all of the things she might do to him. It was making him a little light headed to think about it. He realized he was staring at Carol, and looked down.

Carol noticed Daryl looking at her in the way he sometimes could burn through her with his eyes, and when she would catch his eye, it wasn't possible to look away. It almost hurt to hold his gaze, but thankfully he looked away. The grass was damp beneath them but neither seemed to mind. The clouds were rolling away and the sun was bristling overhead. It was almost peaceful.

"Maybe we should just live out here," Carol said, offering Daryl the last bite of the granola bar.

Daryl shook his head at the offer, and said, "You'd miss everyone. Yer a people person." He picked up a stick and started digging with it absently in the ground.

"You'd miss people, too," Carol said, "And I know I'd do perfectly well on my own if I had to."

"I'd miss _certain_ people, sure," Daryl said, "But I don't need them. You need people, and you wouldn't do well on yer own because of it. I know you. Anyways, not like we're gonna live in the woods."

Carol pondered this thought. She liked to think of herself as an independent woman who would be able to get along easily on her own – someone who didn't need anyone. She had been building up walls for a long time, making an impenetrable fortress – but there had always been a door for Daryl, hadn't there? She stood up and reached her hand down to him, and pulled him up.

"How's your ankle? I can carry ya - for awhile at least - if you need me to." Daryl offered, "Think my bow weighs more than you do."

Carol laughed, " You are a funny guy. I think I'm going to have to manage this one, if we don't push too hard."

Daryl nodded, "We'll go slow."

"Rick must be worried about us," Carol mused, "I was surprised he didn't come with us."

Daryl frowned but didn't comment.

They headed out the way they came, cautiously making their way back to the meet-up point. They had wandered quite far out over some rough terrain until the sun was high in the sky. They were both starting to feel weary after awhile, "I think this was easier on the way out," Carol admitted, "Can we stop?"

"Anything for you, sweetheart," Daryl said, grinning at using the pet name.

Carol's face lit up, "How long have you been waiting to use that?"

Daryl blushed, "Been thinkin' bout it while we walked. Honey is too plain, and darlin' is too sad country song, so it came down between sweetheart and baby."

"Wow, you gave that a lot of thought," she gave him a peck on his scruffy cheek.

He grabbed her waist before she could get away, and pulled her close, "I always have lots of thoughts." He leaned in close brushing his cheek against hers.

"Do you like it?" he whispered in her ear.

Daryl's gentle whispering gave her goosebumps, an aphrodisiac Carol didn't know existed until that moment. She giggled, burying her face in his neck, unable to look at him as her face grew red.

"Yes," She said, wiggling out of his embrace.

He frowned at her, and she gave him a coy smile in return.

"What's wrong?" he said.

"Nothing, the day is just getting rather hot, don't you think?" Carol pursed her lips.

Daryl shrugged, "there's a stream up that way. We can refill our bottles and rest. Can you make it another 10 minutes or so?"

Carol rolled her eyes, and sighed and a few minutes later they were resting on a giant rock overlooking a stream. Daryl filled the empty water bottles and handed one to Carol. They drank until satiated and then Daryl filled them up again. Carol laid back on the rock.

"In another life, this would have been a good spot to come to lay out to get a tan," Carol said.

"Can't say I've ever done that before."

"Or maybe a make out point. Make out rock," she laughed.

"That sounds more interestin',"Daryl said, laughing with her.

The clouds meandered across the bright blue sky. There was a gentle breeze blowing, and the sound of the water trickling. The night had been so brutal and long. Sleep had been a fitful thing and Daryl felt himself getting tired.

The next thing he was aware Carol was shaking him awake. He was disoriented but instantly alert. He jumped up and pulled out his knife. He looked at Carol and she held a finger to his lips, and pointed. Just outside of the clearing there was a rustling in the trees and Daryl saw a black bear.

Inwardly cursing himself for falling asleep, Daryl bent down slowly and picked up his bow, knowing what he would have to do if the bear came toward them. He stepped in front of Carol, moving very slowly. The bear hadn't taken notice of them, and Daryl was hopeful that he would just move on. He didn't want a bear as an adversary – much quicker and more dangerous than a walker.

The bear wandered out into the clearing, and stood up on its front paws. The thing was so huge, and Carol gasped quietly behind him. Daryl raised his bow, knowing that he needed all of his concentration. The bear was almost too far away for a good shot, but he knew it could span the distance in a matter of seconds. It would be difficult to aim if the thing charged them so he shot before it came to that. He hit the bear in the neck.

The bear was angry and hurt and began running back and forth, but was too distracted by the pain to notice Daryl closing in, when he was close enough for a clear shot he got it in the head and the bear fell down dead.

Carol ran up to Daryl and hugged him. He reached an arm around her, still keeping an eye on the bear. His adrenaline was still going full force. He looked at down at her, "I'm sorry I fell asleep, I can't believe I was so careless."

"I kept watch," Carol said, "You deserved to rest, but I just thought bears might be more your expertise."

Daryl softened and kissed her forehead, "Never gone up against a bear before, but I know some things. You gotta if you spend anytime in the woods. At least we got dinner,"


	5. Chapter 5

Daryl could not stop lamenting the loss of the bear meat, but there was simply no way they could transport the huge thing. So, they took as much as they could carry, and were washing up their hands and arms in the water.

"I need a shower," Carol complained motioning to her hair and clothes that were caked in mud.

"World's biggest bath, right there," Daryl said pointing at the stream.

"I'll just wait until we get back home," Carol sighed.

"Suit yerself, but we won't be back tonight."

Carol's face fell. How in the world did they get so far off track? She knew though. They ran far off into the wrong direction away from the walkers, and they'd gone even farther off in the wrong direction following the sewer line. It was taking them twice as long to get back with her injured ankle. She realized that she didn't even know what their objective was. Daryl had been vague and grumpy about the whole thing yesterday so she hadn't pressed him, but now she wanted to know.

"Daryl, why are we even out here?" Carol asked. From what she knew Rick and Daryl had been going out on the run, but then at the last minute Rick had asked her to come along and made it seem urgent. Rick had been nervous, and Daryl had been irritable, and the next thing she knew she was stuck in a hole.

Daryl's face went dark, "There's a house 'round here. It's got one of them bunkers underneath it filled with supplies. Me and Rick came across it one day, but it's impossible to get the car to so we can only take what we can carry. We need batteries and aspirin, and anythin' else we can grab. This place is stocked."

"What are you not telling me?" Carol looked him in the eye and he looked down.

Daryl kicked the dirt with his toe, "I was going to leave Alexandria."

"Leave?" Carol felt panic rise up in her voice.

"Yeah, just go. Fed up with it," Daryl said.

Carol was taken aback, "Why? Were you going to say anything?"

"I told Rick. He was pissed. An' he got me to tell him my reasons for leaving. We were supposed to go on a supply run together, but I wasn't gonna come back, and he knew it."

Carol felt her stomach drop. She worried about losing him. She never thought Daryl of all people would leave after as far as he'd come. Her world which had finally felt stable, was now whirling out of focus as she tried to understand the relevance of all of this.

"When we go to leave for the run there _you_ are," Daryl said, "And I knew what Rick was up to, that ya both were gonna ambush me, but ya just sat there smilin' like you didn't know nothin', and bein' all cute and excited about getting out of Alexandria for a bit."

"When Rick dropped us off, he took me aside and tells me to work this shit out because I ain't leaving, and he'll be back in 2 days to get me," Daryl said, "He said if I still want to go, he'll pack my bags for me."

"So, Rick knew you'd not abandon me and run off, well that is thoughtful of him, I guess," Carol said sarcastically, rolling her eyes, while silently cursing Rick for not telling her all of this.

"No," Daryl said, "If Rick wanted to keep tabs on me he coulda done that himself. I feel silly tellin' you this, but I guess it's okay now." He paused, "The main reason I was leavin' was because of you."

Carol was stricken and felt her chest tighten at his words, "Me? I don't know what I did that hurt you so bad that you wanted to leave!"

"It ain't like that," Daryl sighed, "I told ya that I've been in love with ya for a long time. And I didn't think ya felt it back. Ya seem to have made a happy life in Alexandria. Ya fit in. I don't, and I'm not happy there. I tried. It hurts to be there everyday seein' ya talkin' and smilin' with everyone 'cept me. I used to be the person you went to."

"Daryl," Carol said, but any explanation seemed to fall short. She wrapped her arms around him, "I'm sorry."

"Naw, I was stupid for not telling ya how I felt. I shouda, but I was scared to," Daryl said, "I didn't know all that you were going through. It was just...I thought we used to have something, and I thought it died."

Tears were welling up in Carol's eyes, "Please don't leave me. I don't think I could stand that."

"I won't. Like I said it was dumb not to talk to ya. My pride got in the way. I probably would have come back, anyway, would have missed ya," Daryl said, running his fingers through her mud-caked hair, "I'm always gonna love ya, and protect ya, as long as you'll have me, or until I die, whichever comes first."

There was a painful stab at her heart when he mentioned dying, and the tears were threatening to fall at his confession, at the fact that he loved her as much as she loved him, and it was all just sinking in. Tears were sneaking out as she hugged him tightly.

"Don't cry," Daryl said, gently, "I didn't mean fer that."

"I'm sorry," Carol said, "They are happy tears, maybe a little sad, but mostly happy. I love you, too, so much. It is a relief to know you feel the same. It makes me happy, but I also feel bad that you ever doubted that I did."

"We were both stupid," Daryl said pragmatically, "Let's clean up in this stream, and head over to that house. It will be easier to cook and eat there with dishes and everythin'. We can hole up there for the night. There's also a nice big bed where we can get some rest."

Carol looked up at Daryl and raised her eyebrows.

He gave her an 'aw shucks' look and shrugged.

"Are you suggesting something," Carol asked coyly.

"I will have you know that I slept in that bed with Rick, and I was a true gentleman," Daryl said, crossing his heart with his finger.

Carol burst into laughter, and Daryl watched her with a sideways smile.

"So, you're saying that Rick's plan was to abandon you with me in the woods for a couple days and let it work itself out?" Carol asked when she caught her breath, "I can't believe that worked."

Daryl nodded, "You clean up, I'll keep watch over there and give ya some privacy."

"No peeking," Carol teased.

"I won't," Daryl said solemnly, "Although..."

"Although what?"

Daryl blushed, "If we're coming clean about things, I admit that I have seen ya before..ya know...without yer clothes,"

"Daryl Dixon!" Carol said, covering her face, "When? Never mind, I don't want to know."

Daryl bit his nail, "It's been a long while now, back at the prison. I just accidentally walked in at the wrong time. The privacy wasn't good there. I never told ya, but now I have..."

Carol was still covering her face, peeking out at him between two fingers.

Daryl laughed,"I couldn't look ya in the eye for probably about a week after that. I was more shy back then. I kind of felt guilty about it, but I never forgot it neither."

Daryl could see Carol's cheeks redden under her hands. He stepped toward her and took her by the wrists, gently pulling her hands from her face. He kissing her, lingering close to her lips but instead of kissing her again he said "Stop, I don't want ya to hide from me anymore."

She smiled sheepishly at him, her pulse was quickening, "What you said just took me by surprise. It made me feel embarrassed."

"Yer beautiful, there's nothing to be embarrassed about," Daryl said in a low voice.

Carol could feel her heart beating so fast with the way he was looking at her, and she pulled away from her, letting her self consciousness win this time.

Daryl, on the other hand, was feeling more confident, almost cocky knowing that she loved him. He was riding on a love high, and the feeling was intoxicating. He wondered if he would ever get over seeing her smile _for him_. If he would ever tire of hearing her say I love you. He wondered if touching her would ever not make him weak with desire. He was starving for her, and all he wanted was more, and more, and more. It was driving him to overcome his awkwardness.

"That reminds me," Daryl said, dropping to his knee and digging through his bag, "I found this and I saved it for ya." Daryl pulled out a very old looking ziplock baggie from a pocket in his bag, opened it and shook out a little gold necklace into his hand. It had a delicate chain and a teardrop pendant with a large diamond center, "I think it's a real diamond, not that it maybe that matters anymore, but I liked it, and I thought I would like it even more on you."

"I love it, Daryl, it's amazing" Carol said, truly touched, "Where did you find it."

"It was in this mansion that had been ransacked, but I found this and saved it for ya. That was back at the prison, when we used to do more runs," Daryl said.

The gravity of what he said hit Carol very profoundly. He had held onto a necklace for her all this time, just waiting for his moment. She felt she could be crushed by the weight of that admission, but Daryl seemed unfazed by it. He looked at her earnestly. She said, "Can you hold it for me until I clean off, I don't want to lose it."

Daryl smiled.

They took turns cleaning up, both giving each other privacy by keeping watch. Carol felt a lot better getting the mud and blood out of her hair, and in general refreshed.

When Daryl was finished he offered to put the necklace on her, but he'd never done such a thing before, so he cussed and struggled until he finally got clasp hooked. He stood and appraised the necklace on her, and gave her a nod of approval. Carol thanked him again, feeling like royalty despite everything.

"The place isn't too far from here, an easy walk" Daryl said slinging both of their bags over his shoulder. "It's well hidden in the woods, so it's doubtful anyone found it. They headed off in the right direction. Carol's ankle was starting to bother her and she was slightly limping.

Daryl stopped, "You ok?"

"How much farther?"she asked.

"On the other side of that hill," he answered.

"I can make it, just worn out," Carol assured him.

Without warning, Daryl slung his crossbow over his shoulder, and scooped her up.

"Daryl," Carol protested, "You're carrying too much."

Daryl didn't seem overly bothered, and didn't respond. She put her head on his chest. It was a little odd to be carried, but she liked being close to him, too. Her ankle was definitely enjoying the break.

A few minutes later they were approaching a small, plain looking cottage.

Daryl kicked open the door and carried her in setting her on a chair in the front room.

"This place is pretty cozy," Carol said, as Daryl made a quick search of the rooms.

He popped his head back in, "Everything's clear. Nothing's been touched."

"Time for dinner then," Carol said.


End file.
